As the author of 19 books and dozens of articles, I've had my battles with writer's block. Is there a cure for this disease? Perhaps not. But hopefully I can offer the reader of this blog some valuable tips for writing.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Cure for the Block

Is writer's block hindering your creative expressions? Are you looking for a cure? Here's the fool-proof remedy. Go out to the nearest grocery or box store. Buy a 2-pound bag of peanut M&Ms, dump them in a mixing bowl on your desk next to your screen and treat yourself to one for every sentence you write. Chunk down a bonus blue at the end of each paragraph. It works for me every time.

But simply writing sentences and paragraphs and pigging out won't get you published. So here in this blog you will find some helpful tips from a not very good writer.

The truth is, I'm not a very good writer. I've read way too much good writing to know that. But, according to some statistics I read recently, I would be in the very top percentile of author money-makers. That hardly means I'm getting rich through writing, but more than 98% of published writers make less than I do. The big millionaire writers make up a small fraction of 1%.

How do I do it. Consider some of the following suggestions:

Everyone knows that to be a good writer one must read. But every novice writer should go a step further. I recently read a partial manuscript of a friend (and accomplished artist) who would like to publish historical romance. Her introduction was weak. I challenged her to cull from her collection the top-selling novels in that genre and copy---yes, PLAGIARIZE---the first paragraphs of the book, inserting her own names and places. After she's done that with a dozen books, she'll be ready to write an introduction that will pull the reader into the book.

The first page is the most important in the entire volume---especially if one is writing fiction. Perhaps seasoned authors with their own bestsellers in their briefcases can afford a slow beginning, but new authors seeking to catch the eye of an agent or editor must grab the reader immediately. Here are the opening paragraphs of my church history text due out in August 2011.

When Saint Bruno in his younger years was studying in Paris the city was caught up in a sea of mourning. A renowned monastic scholar, much admired for his holy life, had died. But as the funeral cortege proceeded to the tomb, the dead scholar rose out of the coffin and cried out, “By God’s righteous judgment, I am accursed.” Utterly astounded, the officiating clerics delay the funeral until the following day. But the same shocking episode occurs again, and still again, the day after. So terrified—and convicted of sin—is Bruno that he goes straightaway into the desert to meditate and soon thereafter in 1084 founds the Carthusians, a cloistered order of monks and nuns. On September 14, 1224, while praying on the mountain of Verna, Saint Francis receives the stigmata—the very wounds of the crucified Christ. On July 2, 1505, Martin Luther, having been struck down by lightning, promises Saint Anne he will become a monk. Some two centuries later, American evangelist William Tennent awakens in the night realizing the toes on one foot are missing—snatched by the Devil.

The history of Christianity is a fascinating narrative roiling with legends and lies, facts, figures, daring feats and disputations. Wild and well-nigh impenetrable, it snares the unsuspecting reader by its captivating content. Indeed, having once started down the rabbit trail of church history, it turns into an exhilarating hunt. That is why studying the subject is not only a serious enterprise but also entertaining—and addictive

History is often perceived to be boring so I seek to grab the attention of the reader at the get-go and hopefully in the process sell the book to a general audience, not just to students whose professor has assigned it as a required text.

History is my specialty, and that brings me to my next point. It is very difficult to break into such a broad field as historical romance---especially with one's first book. Far better to write in a specialized field with less competition. I know a woman who is writing a book on the history of a particular Michigan lighthouse. Her very specialized field is local lighthouse history and her chances of getting published to a limited audience is better than if she, as an unknown author, were to write on the Founding Fathers, an area already saturated with books.

HERE IS MY OUTLINE FOR A WRITING SEMINAR THAT I OFFER

I. Philosophical Considerations

A. Writing is a pragmatic venture; write what sells and is published

B. Writing is a creative venture; be free to dream and think “outside the box”

B. Snatch small segments of time and expect insights an inconvenient times

C. Be aware of your "body clock" and other personal idiosyncrasies

D. Team up with someone whose abilities complement your own

E. Combine writing with other interests and activities

F. Read widely in your field and outside your field of interest

G. Look for new ideas--and old ideas with a fresh slant

H. Start small--in church publications or specialty magazines

I. Investigate publishers and network with people in the writing field

J. Make your proposal letter (query) the best-written work you ever do

K. Invest in a computer—hardware and software that will aid your efforts

L. Think and plan ahead by keeping computer and paper files of ideas and materials

III. Psychological Considerations

A. Be positive about your writing, but also be realistic

B. Seek out critics, and welcome criticism

C. Remember that publishers are looking for new authors

D. Accept rejection letters as part of the writing process

E. Don't give up; keep trying

Some notes on "Tricks of the Trade"

Choosing a publisher--if you have that luxury

Should you stay with one publisher or move around?

Local publishers are often easier to work with--if not get 800 phone #

Contracts

Authors can negotiate--contract books available

Don't expect a lot for first book

Avoid vanity press

Royalties--14% of net

Advance

Returns

Number of books to be printed

Advertising budget

Publicity--my brochures

Author Advantages

Opens doors to all sorts of other ministry

Allows for flexibility and freedom in schedule

Good for parents who want to be home with children

Combine work and play--read/write on vacation

Income tax deductions

Computers/supplies

Books/magazines/newspapers

Travel

Home office

Creativity and imagination are critical

This is not merely advice for poets and novelists; it’s critical for scholars. Scientists must have imagination to discover cures for diseases or develop better aircraft. My brother is a metallurgist, with patents in his name—discoveries that required imagination.

No matter what the field, biblical studies, church education, theology, spiritual formation, the key to publishing is discovering and presenting something significant that hasn’t been said before—AND saying it in a way that captures the reader’s attention.

Reason and Imagination

Utilizing Story

Utilizing other interests and disciplines

Raising issues and questions others have not developed

Combining writing with other duties

QUOTES

Mark Helprin once offered this advice to an aspiring writer on how best to construct a work, to grab the attention of the reader (and here I can only paraphrase, as I have misplaced the source document): "Treat your story as if a stone thrown into a still pool, coming to rest at the bottom. Then dive in after it." The paraphrase is accurate enough for my purposes, and the message is clear: Know well the end of your journey before you begin it.

Little did I know then, when I had meandered across Helprin's advice, that it would be central to my ability to write my thoughts on "A Soldier of the Great War."

1. Write every day.2. Give yourself the best tools to write.3. Write as you would speak (aka, read it aloud as you write).4. Have others read to give you feedback.5. Read a lot, read across disciplines. [I would say read good writers.]6. Write for your audience.7. Write without interruptions.8. Take care of yourself.9. Practice your writing by writing a lot.10. When stuck, write by hand.

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Thomas Hardy's Writing Habits

What kept him going in these late years--eighty-four, eighty-five, eighty-six, eighty-seven--was the simple daily habit of picking up his pen. "I never let a day go without using a pen. Just holding it sets me off; in fact I can't think without it. It's important not to wait for the right mood. If you do it will come less and less."

Claire Tomalin, Thomas Hardy, 358.

Ruth A. Tucker

Here I am all dressed up in my lecture attire. I speak at college and church functions mainly on topics related to my books. I have a Ph.D. in history, but I've expanded beyond that discipline. When I'm not writing and speaking, I'm just a working stiff (along with husband John) at Carlton Gardens, our garden and gift shop in Grand Rapids..

Anne Lamott on Writing

I sometimes teach classes on writing, during which I tell my students every single thing I know about the craft and habit. This takes approximately 45 minutes. I begin with my core belief—and the foundation of almost all wisdom traditions—that there is nothing you can buy, achieve, own, or rent that can fill up that hunger inside for a sense of fulfillment and wonder. But the good news is that creative expression, whether that means writing, dancing, bird-watching, or cooking, can give a person almost everything that he or she has been searching for: enlivenment, peace, meaning, and the incalculable wealth of time spent quietly in beauty.

Then I bring up the bad news: You have to make time to do this….

Oscar Wilde and the Money Issue

In a 13-pages letter, addressed to an aspiring author, he cautions writers not to rely on their craft for their livelihood.

"The best work in literature is always done by those who do not depend on it for their daily bread. Make some sacrifice for your art and you will be repaid but ask of art to sacrifice herself for you and a bitter disappointment may come to you."

In spite of his own advice, Wilde made his living in the journalism and literary world in England in the late 1800s.

Writing Posthumously

In his 1988 book of essays, “Prepared for the Worst,” Christopher Hitchens recalled a bit of advice given to him by the South African Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer. “A serious person should try to write posthumously,” Hitchens said, going on to explain: “By that I took her to mean that one should compose as if the usual constraints—of fashion, commerce, self-censorship, public and, perhaps especially, intellectual opinion—did not operate.”

Jeffrey Eugenides

NEVER STOP WRITING

Leo Tolstoy:

I must write each day without fail, not so much for the success of the work, as in order not to get out of my routine.

John Updike:

I have never believed that one should wait until one is inspired because I think the pleasures of not writing are so great that if you ever start indulging them you will never write again.